The Believer’s Influence in the World | Matthew 5:13-16

Scripture

• Matthew 5:13–16

About this sermon

Introduction: Throughout my time as a pastor — from the day I began ministry until today — there has always been someone in the world telling us all what the church must do if the church is to maintain influence in the world. “If the church is to be taken seriously, then this must be our strategy.” “If the church is not to GO OUT OF EXISTENCE, then these are the changes we must make.” “Here are the kinds of changes we need to make in order to remain relevant.” For years and years there were church growth books that evaluated and diagnosed the cultural moment and offered culture-fitted prescriptions for how to appeal to the newest generation. And they wanted everyone to believe that without that kind of cultural expertise (i.e., without their research), you would “swing and miss.” According to one website, since 1946 there are five generations that could be categorized as follows: Baby boomers (1946-64) Generation X (1965-80) Generation Y (1981-96) (Millennials) Generation Z (1997-2012) (Centennials or igeneration) Generation Alpha (2013-25) Church growth gurus thought that the way for the church to be influential is to treat each generation like a new mission field, with its own unique language and affinities, and repackage the church’s ministries and the church’s message in a way that they could relate to. Shorter attention spans. Love for entertainment. Plenty of visuals. … and on it went. More recently, it has involved man-centered, self-improvement, or self-confidence-building talks. It has involved working out, so that you have muscles. It has involved cool clothing. Whatever you do, you must convince the people you’re trying to reach that you deserve their admiration. Well in the verses that immediately follow the beatitudes, we find something very different. THE LORD OF GLORY, WHO KNOWS THE HEARTS OF ALL MEN, WHO KNOWS HOW HE HAS DECREED TO GATHER IN HIS SHEEP, AND TO MINISTER TO HIS PEOPLE, SPOKE TO HIS DISCIPLES ABOUT THEIR INFLUENCE IN THE WORLD. What He emphasized is not the need to study and understand the culture. What He emphasized is the need to believe and embrace what is true of the disciple. Influence in the culture is not accomplished by LIKENESS TO THE CULTURE. Influence in the world, for the Christian, is as simple as being what the Christian is. If you want to know about the Christian’s influence in the world — the church’s influence in the world — then listen to the Lord Jesus Christ. • THE PEOPLE BEING DESCRIBED The people being described are the people who are blessed. The people described by the beatitudes are the same people are the salt of the earth, the light of the world. THEY ARE BLESSED PEOPLE. GRACED PEOPLE. SAVED PEOPLE. PEOPLE TO WHOM THE KINGDOM BELONGS. PEOPLE WHO WILL HAVE A GREAT REWARD IN HEAVEN.

Topics

• Faith
• Leadership